ZVOX Launches Two New Z-base Speaker Systems

Soundbar madness is in full swing among audio and video manufacturers, but ZVOX, one of the first companies to put a full suite of speakers into one compact box, has launched two new products into the let’s-make-audio-simple fray.

First, to be clear, these aren’t soundbars. They’re not flat, and they don’t hang on the wall under your LCD TV. And they’re not just speakers—both the Z-base 555 and 580 are integrated sound systems with amplifications, signal processing, multiple inputs and some features you expect from home theater receivers such as output leveling (to keep loud commercials from blowing you away), dialog emphasis feature and phase-based virtual surround processing (called PhaseCue II).

Each new Z-base, about the size of a Blu-ray player, is constructed of medium density fiberboard and includes built-in speakers and subwoofer. The systems can be controlled with your cable/satellite remote, and require only one wire connection.